Nuggets fans: here are some more things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving…

** Kenneth Faried’s rebounding. Enjoy him. His Thanksgiving-like hunger for rebounds is something to celebrate. I sometimes like to solely watch Faried on an entire possession, to watch him battle.

** JaVale McGee’s wingspan. When he jumps up for dunks, sometimes you wonder, at first, if he’s simply too far away from the basket. Then, his go-go-Gadget arms stretch out and he slams the ball at the most fascinating angles, and with furious force.

** Ty Lawson’s speed. Is there are faster player in the league with the ball in his hands, Mozgov notwithstanding?

** Andre Iguodala’s dedication to defense. I looked up a piece I did from the first time I met Dre – June, 2004, prior to the NBA Draft. I was in a room, interviewing all the lottery picks, and I asked all of them what separates them from the rest of the field. They all said offensive-y things, except Iguodala, who proclaimed: “”I think I set myself apart from a lot of players defensively, being able to go out there and stop players. … “A lot of guys have a couple years of getting better defensively, and that’s keeping them off the court because they can’t defend — I think that’s what’s going to put me on the court. I think you have to take pride in playing defense; that’s the base of winning. A lot of teams struggle because they can’t stop teams from putting the ball in the hole.”

** Gallo’s gall. Love him shooting the ball in the fourth these days. Two (essential) game winners so far this season, and it’s not even December.

** Corey Brewer’s implausible NBA body. He’s sorority-thin.

** Chris Marlowe’s cool stories. The Nuggets broadcaster has won a gold medal as a volleyball player and used to be an actor. Once he was on an episode of “Bosom Buddies,” that short-lived 80s sitcom that gave Tom Hanks his big break. Marlowe’s character was Sven, a Swedish masseuse and his “funny” line was: “You want me to touch the tushy??” (CUE LAUGH-TRACK) Anyway, decades later, Marlowe was at a restaurant and spotted Tom Hanks, who was now a multi-time Oscar winner, huge huge star. Marlowe goes up to Tom and is like: “Hi, uh, Tom … this’ll sound weird but I was actually on an episode of ‘Bosom Buddies.’ ” So Tom Hanks looks up at Marlowe, kinda scrunches his eyes and then suddenly opens his mouth and says: “SVEN!!”

Personally, I enjoy Chris & Scott. I have the DirecTV BBall package and watch a lot of games from many different markets and I think we have one of the better duos. So many of the others are incredibly boring and lacking in energy. And these two have a quirky sense of humor instead of being so stiff as many others are.

Geoff, please do us all a favor and find your happy place. It’s so yesterday to be one of those guys who just hates on things to hate on things. Seriously, “worst announcer in the NBA,” and “worst color commentator?” How many other announcers and color guys have you listened to? My gut feeling is the answer to that question is ZERO.

They aren’t that bad and really seem to like one another (even if a lot of angry birds here don’ t seem to like them). But the best moment of the year so far was Gallinari calling Hastings on his tired-old promise/joke to buy him dinner on the plane.

THAT was genuinely funny and spontaneous. And it caused Hastings to say it just one last time to Iggy (to save face). But now he’s immediately switched his trademarked post-game aside to something about coming over for Thanksgiving (which, naturally enough, Gallo showed more good humor by following up his “why don’t you spend some money?” laughter with a good-natured agreement to share Thursday’s food with the color commentator).

But Hochman is too focused on what he calls Gallo’s gall (probably for illiteration purposes). The best thing about Gallo to be thankful for is his recent commitment to getting stronger in the weight room and applying that strength in spinning into the lane and leaning in– after a head-fake or two– for a high-percentage shot from the edge of the paint).

He’s good with both hands and is the rare Nuggets player who can hit his free-throws. So I hope we see him try these moves twice as much if his ankles hold up during the rest of the season. This is what will turn him from a better-defending, better-running Steve Novak-type into the All-Star that we can hold our heads up with in pride as a superior all-around replacement for Carmelo (thus, allowing Ujiri, and us fans, to view Chandler, Mozgov, Koufos, Miller and Hamilton as bonus gravy from the big deal that sent Mr. Sticky-fingers to New York).

Gallo is a better defender than Anthony and tries all the time on that end (and not just on nationally-broadcast games or games in the beginning of the season as Melo does).

His brilliant performances against Portland– when first arriving– and at New York last season were not flukes (like a Corey Brewer shooting night when he gets hot and nails five three’s). They were built upon a desire to penetrate and use his ability to find a crease and angle through it like an arrow.

Against Memphis and Minnesota, the same tenacious willingness to penetrate was on brilliant display and now it needs to be complimented with a Bill Bradley-like commitment to move without the ball more (so he can get the rock in the right place to allow him to finally be the Nugget scorer who can take his man from the top of the key with an assortment of these moves).

I also hope we see Karl start to reward Kosta Koufos for his improvement by loosening the reins a bit about his freedom to show some more of his offensive repertoire (which Chris Marlowe helpfully points out he displayed at Ohio State). “The Real Kosta Koufos” is the video online “Sven” comments about and it shows KK is capable of even more nimble shot-making than his steadily-improving baby-hook.

As long as its just once-or-twice a game and it succeeds half-the-time, why not allow KK to develop a running one-hander when he faces a bigger Center who’s feet aren’t as mobile?

As for Hastings, he clearly is one of the better color commentators in the game in my opinion (although I have only heard about 5-7 others). He is likeable and knowledgeable about many parts of the NBA game and I have learned a lot over the years listening to him. They are part of the Denver community and we would miss them if they were replaced by someone more bland and perfunctory. But,like our relatives, familiarity can breed contempt when we hear them say things for the umpteenth time.

We all make mistakes sometimes. I posted earlier this year unfair criticisms of Kosta Koufos and Corey Brewer (so a Thanksgiving Mea Culpa for that). But Hastings and Marlowe do a good job and are certainly appreciated even though they are homers paid to emphasize the positive.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.